HOUSTON, Texas –
A possible meteorite crashed into a Houston-area house on Saturday night, tearing through the roof and two stories of the home, officials said.
Ponderosa Fire Chief Fred Windisch told CBS News that what “appears to be a meteorite” crashed through a woman’s house, landing in the kitchen. Windisch said the meteorite was a little bigger than his hand. Ponderosa Forest is a suburb in north Houston.
NASA said in a social media post that the meteor became visible at 49 miles above Stagecoach, northwest of Houston, at 4:40 p.m. local time. The meteor moved southeast at 35,000 miles per hour, breaking apart 29 miles above Bammel, just west of Cypress Station, NASA said.
“The fragmentation of the meteor – which weighed about a ton with a diameter of 3 feet – created a pressure wave that caused booms heard by some in the area,” NASA said in the post.
Across the Houston area, residents described hearing a low, rumbling sound that many compared to thunder, even though the skies were clear, according to CBS affiliate KHOU.
Earlier this week, an asteroid weighing about 7 tons and traveling at 45,000 mph traveled over multiple states.
And last June, a bright meteor was seen across the southeastern U.S. and exploded over Georgia, creating similar booms heard by residents in the area.